I wouldn't change a thing
by Vickysg1
Summary: Even though she came back, he had to follow through with his plan.


**Disclaimer:** I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.  
**Author's note:** This was written for Week 4 of the 10 weeks of Nate/Sophie at nathan_sophie (Team Sophie). The prompt was 'The Maltese Falcon' (Prompt #7). I was also inspired by these lyrics from Matt Dusk's song 'Good News': "Now if you love something you've got to let it go / If it comes back it's yours, and it means that much more". This is also my last fic for this challenge, so thanks again to aquariusgb for having organised this! It was fun!

###

When he heard her voice, his first thought was that he was hallucinating. But then, he turned around, and there she was, standing just a couple of feet away from him. Her hair was longer than it was the last time he saw her, but otherwise, she hadn't changed. He hadn't really expected her to change – he had actually hoped that she wouldn't change at all –, but she did leave the team to find out who she really was, once stripped of her many identities.

And now, she was back. She came back because he needed her to. Because the team needed her. _He_ needed her. He wanted nothing more right now than to talk to her. He wanted to ask her whether she was back for good or she would leave them – _him _– again, but he couldn't. He couldn't blow her cover when she probably just saved his life. Talking to her would have to wait. It would have to wait certainly longer than she was thinking. But what was done was done, and he had no choice now but to follow through with his plan.

He couldn't even tell her about his plan. He didn't have time to, and even if he did, he wasn't sure he would be willing to tell her. She wouldn't approve, of that much he was sure. She would try to talk him out of it, to tell him that there was another way. But he had thought and thought about it, and he knew there just wasn't another way out; he wouldn't abandon them, even less now that she was back. He had to protect them, even if it meant putting himself in Sterling's hands and spending a good while in prison.

She would take care of them while he was away, he knew that, he trusted her. She came back when he needed her after all. She might not have heard what he had tried to tell her after that during their phone call, but she knew that, and it would be enough for now. He hadn't even been sure she heard that part until she told him just that when they had a moment to themselves. It didn't last long enough for him to ask her questions though; they still had to complete their mission, and that meant making sure Kadjic wouldn't go anywhere.

When he felt the bullet pierce his skin, he was worried, not for himself, but for his plan. If he wasn't able to put it into action, Sterling would go after the team, and he couldn't let that happen. But luckily for him, adrenaline kicked in, and he could follow Sophie to the rest of the team, joining them just as Tara and Parker arrived. He covered his wound the best he could, and hoped that the team wouldn't notice as they said their goodbyes to Tara. He couldn't let them know that he had been shot; if he did, their minds would be focused on helping him when it had to happen the other way around.

As he watched Tara leave, he hoped that she would make her way off the ship before it was surrounded by federal agents. He listened to Sophie as she pointed them to the helicopter that would take them all to safety. He would stay behind, but they didn't know that yet. He let the team walk ahead of him, and checked his wound; he was losing blood, and he didn't think it was just a flesh wound, but it didn't feel life-threatening just yet. He could keep on covering it up until the team was safe; he still had some time. After that, well, he hoped that Sterling really valued his testimony.

He handcuffed himself to the railing and exposed his final plan to Sterling and the team. There were other people there, including that FBI agent, but they weren't the ones who mattered there. When he talked to the team, he carefully avoided looking at Sophie; he even made sure to keep her out of his sightline. He didn't want to see the disappointment on her face, the team's was already enough. He had failed them, he knew that, and it was the only way he found to make it up to them. Maybe, with time, they would understand why he did that. Maybe they never would and they would never be a family again. But at the very least, right now, they were out of harm's way, and that was what mattered the most.

He briefly wondered whether he would have still followed through with his plan if he knew she would come back. Maybe he would have dedicated more time thinking about one where they could all escape. Maybe they would have been able to work together on this, and she would have prodded him until the plan ensured the safety of all of them. It was too late though to think about what ifs. It was the only way he had found to protect Eliot, Hardison and Parker, and now, he knew it would protect her too.

He watched as Eliot ushered Parker and Hardison away while Sophie stayed at his side. Eliot stopped beside Sterling, while the others were making their way towards the helicopter, and he knew that the hitter was just waiting for Sophie.

He finally turned towards her and saw that she was on the verge of crying. This was a rare sight on her face, and he was the one to provoke it. She murmured his name, and he knew she wanted to talk but it was the last thing he wanted. He was still bleeding on the deck of his ship, and he needed her to leave before he couldn't stand on his own two feet anymore.

But before he told her to leave, there was still one thing he wanted to do. He leaned in close to her, whispered two words, and kissed her. She put one of her hands on his shoulder while the other briefly came up to cup his cheek. He wanted to hold her to him, but he couldn't: one of his hands was handcuffed to the railing and the other was pressing onto his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

She responded to the kiss as he knew she would; he still remembered the look on her face at the graveyard, even after she pulled away from him, and he knew she wanted this just as much as he did. But he wasn't surprised by her words when the kiss came to an end, nor by the slap. He wanted to reach out to wipe her tears, but he couldn't, and then, she walked past him to join Eliot.

This was what was supposed to happen, he knew that, and he wouldn't change a thing; they were supposed to leave while he stayed behind. Once they had left, his legs couldn't carry him much longer and he let himself slide down to the floor. He saw Sterling move closer to him and call for an ambulance.

When that federal agent asked who he was, for the first time in a long while, he answered truthfully. He couldn't pretend he wasn't a thief anymore. Just as much as he changed them, they changed him, and it was the one change he was finally ready to accept. It had taken him time, but he was ready to accept that he wasn't the good guy anymore, that he hadn't been the good guy for a long time.

Sterling's phone rang and Nate raised his head and watched as he answered it with a frown on his face. He didn't need to guess to know who it was though; he had seen the helicopter still hovering close by.

"Sterling," the Interpol agent answered curtly.

Nate was only privy to this side of the conversation, but it wasn't hard to know what was being said on the other side. He still kept his eyes on the helicopter hoping to see it leave the area any second now.

"How did you get this number?" Sterling asked, before pausing to listen to the reply. "Of course. Yes, he has been shot. Well, why don't you ask him?" he exclaimed, obviously frustrated by what he was hearing on the other side. "I called for an ambulance, it should be here any minute now. Tell Eliot that I heard him, and that he shouldn't worry. I intend to keep him alive so he can testify and go to prison, where he belongs."

"Tell them to leave," Nate said, his voice barely above a whisper but he knew his former friend could still hear him.

"He said to leave. And he's right. You've been granted a free pass, don't waste it on him." Sterling paused again, listening to what the person – Sophie, Nate was certain of that – on the other side was telling him, before hanging up. "Sophie said that you owe her a coat. It seems like you put blood on the one she's wearing."

Nate couldn't help but smile at that; he might have indeed put blood on it when they were kissing, but it wasn't an urgent matter. They were checking on him, and he wasn't surprised. At least now, the helicopter was flying away from the ship and the federal agents. He didn't have to worry about them anymore.

Now, he could focus on himself. He could hear sirens coming closer and closer; the ambulance would soon be here. He could hold on until then. He was closing his eyes when he felt someone press a piece of cloth against his wound. He opened his eyes again to see Sterling kneeling beside him; Nate could say he was surprised, but then, he knew that the other man was just making sure that his only witness wouldn't die on him. He knew better than to say anything about that, though.

He returned his eyes to the sky, where the helicopter that was transporting the people he thought of as his family was now just a dot far away from them. He smiled faintly at that thought.

"She came back," he said out loud but to no one in particular.

"Did you ever doubt she would?" Sterling asked, surprised.

"For a while, yeah..."

He had admitted it, and he was now waiting for a comeback from his former friend. He knew that Sterling had been waiting for just that moment to remind him that he was alone now. But when none came, Nate turned his head to look at him, and saw a smug smile on his lips; at least it was the kind of smile he was used to with him.

"What?" he asked, when Sterling still said nothing.

"Nothing. Just... I think you were the only one, Nate."

It was Nate's turn to look at Sterling in surprise, but the other man had turned his face the other way. He thought for a second that Sterling was wrong, that no one knew for sure that she would come back. But then, he decided that it didn't matter. The only thing that did was that he had let her go, that day in the graveyard, but she came back to the team, to him.

Fin.


End file.
